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Fairy
Fairies (alternatively known as fae, fey, Fair Folk, The Wild Ones ''or simply ''The Folk ''- distinct from Fairy-type pokémon) is a human term that is used to refer to various types of supernatural beings, believed by some to exist hidden away in the shadowed corners of the world, or within twisted planes of their own creation. Folklorists, who don't believe in fairies as a rule, hypothesize that many of the stories about fae arose from the then little-understood phenomena of Fallers and Ultra Wormholes - people who disappeared in the pre-modern age, or those who vanished and reappeared months or years later, unaged and with no memories, were said to have tumbled into a fairy's Tale, or were lured in by the creatures' bell-like music, or entranced by their magical wiles. Likewise, many historical reports of strange beings are generally assumed by those in modern times to have actually been Ultra Beast sightings, and Beast Hunters will often scour old legends to search for clues. With the advent of industrialization, science, and the global reach of technology - and a corresponding steep drop in stories of those claiming to have encountered a fairy - belief in the Folk has come to be seen as a mere quaint interlude in the long story of human history, other than a brief resurgence of fascination with them during the height of Victorian Spiritualism. This minor mania died down as the Pokémon League, which publicly discouraged belief in "foolishness", started to gain footholds across the Regions, and as empirical science rose to the forefront; both of these factors banished much old superstition back into the ether. Today, fairies are considered the domain of young girls, their great variety in appearance and temperament forgotten to most - instead invariably depicted as tiny creatures with beautifly wings, harmless and fragile, friendly and delicately magical. Mikaru, seemingly a young girl herself, makes the occasional strange allusion to fairies, and may know much more about the matter than she lets on. Where Do Fairies Come From? According to lore, fairies can arise from one of two separate sources: * Nexus Points, the crossways of the Wild Roads. These places, where the flow of souls, the world's aura, and the limitless potential of the mind all come together in abundance, are wellsprings for the birth of both yokai and fairies alike. They are formed spontaneously from any adrift souls that linger too long at Nexus Points, and do not have parents, nor experience childhood. The supernaturals borne of Nexus Points will guard, serve and protect the area that created them. ** Due to their nature as spaces where the Roads are warped, preventing proper energy flow and trapping the souls of any unlucky enough to die in their vicinity, corrupt Nexus Points such as the Sea of Trees and the Pine Barrens have particularly high fairy and yokai populations. A healthy Nexus, such as Firelight Woods, will birth comparatively few. * Any being with a soul can transform into a fairy - plants, pokémon, humans, and yokai, in much the same fashion that the former three can also become yokai. This is not something that happens often, and requires certain conditions: ** Age. This is mostly for plants who become fairies, and is of considerably less importance for more sapient beings. A particularly ancient tree, or a flower who's stood the test of time, might one day ''awaken ''and realize that there's something different about its existence - that all its old boundaries have been broken... ** Strongly held emotions/deep emotional pain. It's possible, in rare instances, for a sapient being to be so consumed by its feelings, and for so long, that it ''becomes the very embodiment of the emotions that it harbored. This usually births yokai, but it can, when particularly powerful passions are at play, result in a fairy, instead. This can happen with both positive and negative emotion, but the latter is far more common. ** Literal damage to the soul. A mortal being bearing a wounded soul - literally wounded, as in sliced, cut, torn, damaged, or partially missing - will sometimes become a fairy as a result of its soul's losing battle to cope with its suffering, with the qualities of the soul itself determining the nature of the fairy it becomes. ** Some yokai and fairies have the ability to curse others to become yokai or fairies. Sometimes, this is temporary, sometimes, this...isn't. The Difference Between Fairies and Yokai While one could argue the case, and not be entirely incorrect, that fairies are just another sort of yokai, there is good reason why the two terms are not often used interchangeably when discussing mythology. The several distinct reasons why fairies are considered to be their own unique class of supernatural entity include the following: * Most fae are said to consist entirely of soul-essence, and to not have physical bodies in any sense that other beings would be able to understand as being 'bodies.' The myriad of shapes these beings are believed to take reflect the traits and natures of the souls they are borne of. It is for this reason that the vast majority of fairies do not possess Aura of their own, and instead draw their power from the ambient aura given off by other life forms, and by the world itself. Yokai, by contrast, are described as always having bodies (however unusual ''those bodies can sometimes be), and with bodies comes their own life force. * Just like yokai and pokémon, fairies have Types and can use Attacks. However, because most fairies utilize the power of ambient aura rather than being able to draw on Aura of their own, their Attacks are quite different from those of yokai or pokémon. With rare exceptions, fairies do not gain STAB - the 'same-Type Attack bonus' - and their Attacks are weaker across the board than those of yokai or pokémon; however, they make up for this by being able to cast multiple Attacks at once and by having infinite PP, so long as their access to natural energy isn't cut off by a sufficiently powerful Aura Guardian. ** Most, although not all, fairies are Fairy-type, which is no surprise. Yokai, like pokémon, come in a much greater variety of Types. * Most fairies are described as being able to warp space, creating pokéball-like pockets for themselves both to live in and to manipulate for travel, as only what fairy fanatics describe as the "Cryptid' variants can maintain any sense of physical coherency within the modern world for extended lengths of time. These pockets are formed out of the world's natural aura, and are very meticulously constructed and maintained, suited exactly to the needs of their fairies in an almost feng shui fashion. A non-Cryptid fairy who couldn't make a pocket - known as a Tale - to escape into would, after prolonged exposure to the maddening buzz of human technology and infrastructure, corrupt into what current parlance calls a "Glitch". Yokai are described as being unable to form Tales; to travel great distances fairy-style, they instead use the Mystery Zone. * Fairies in mythology are wholly incapable of empathy, and do not understand that the minds of others are not like their own. A high-level Empath ''could potentially read the soul of a fairy and share their feelings with it, but only a Perfect Point, the absolute strongest level of ability that an Empath can reach, could actually force ''a fairy to truly experience what it's like to be in another's shoes. However, forcing a creature with no true concept of other minds to ''experience ''one would be like forcing a human to gaze upon the eldritch and try to comprehend it; in other words, generally not recommended (and it is no surprise that there are no stories describing this scenario). While some yokai ''are as empathy-challenged as their fairy cousins, many others are wholly capable of both understanding and experiencing it. * Most fairies in the body of literature are strictly hierarchical, which leads to our next section... The Hierarchy of Fairies According to folklore, hierarchy is of upmost importance to fairies. With some exceptions, they are lawful creatures who like everything to be organized in specific, orderly ways - every fairy knowing its place and its role, serving the interests of those higher on the totem pole for the benefit of fairydom as a whole. This isn't to say that there aren't hierarchy scuffles - lore is rife with stories of fairies aiming higher than their station, conquering others to gain their power. But once a role was assumed, whether through conquering into a higher station or being ''conquered down into a lower station, it was immediately accepted, the fairy shouldering its metaphorical mantle as easily as that of the station it had been initially born into. Fairies do not die of old age. They can starve from lack of sustenance - all fairies must consume souls without exception - and they can be destroyed by certain human weapons (namely iron and Damascus steel), and also by Aura. Aside from these, the only other thing that can kill a fairy is ''another fairy; there is no waiting around for a foe to die when one wants their position. The fairy sphere is divided into two separate halves, dubbed the "Low Court" and the "High Court" by folklorists. The Low Court is where weak fairies, generally in servile roles, are placed; included in the Low Court are: * Bugbears. A bugbear is the lowest of the low - a mere grunt fairy with little individual power; these populate the Tales of High Court fae. Bugbears are neutral entities and have no wishes or individuality of their own - they serve the whims of the High Court fairy they have aligned themselves to, whatever those may be. Due to their lack of personality, and trait of holding zero desire beyond serving their Master, bugbears never try to challenge their role in the hierarchy. They come in a vast variety of 'species', all tailor-fit to suit the flavor of whatever Tale they live in. Due to their lack of power, they cannot form more than tiny Tales of their own, hence their reliance on stronger fae to home and protect them in return for their service. They are borne of weak and timid souls and are considered wholly expendable by other fairies. * Pixies. The elites of the Low Court, Pixies are unique individuals onto themselves, and do not come in 'species'. Like Bugbears, they cannot create pocket spaces large enough or stable enough to serve as homes, and as such they seek out and bind themselves to High Court Fae - particularly those of the Erlking rank or higher. Pixies have individual personalities and, while often devoted to their more powerful partners, they are not slaves. They can, and have been known to, challenge members of the High Court, even their own allies. Pixie victories in such challenges are infrequent, according to the stories, but not impossible. ** Modern urban legends of Trainers who become fairies are popular to tell around campfires. A common fixture of such stories is that the Trainer's most devoted pokémon companion will transform alongside them, remaining with their Partners as their loyal Pixie. The High Court, by contrast, is populated by stronger Folk, who are capable of forming large and persistent pockets of space - Tales - to serve as their homes. The High Court includes: * Bogeys. The Bugbear tier of the High Court. Like their weaker counterparts, Bogeys come in 'species'; species can be populated from as few as two members, to hundreds of individuals. Members of the same species tend to live together in single Tales, pooling their powers into creating one large space and working together to hunt and gather aura, rather than operating as individual agents, as they generally lack the raw strength to compete with higher-ranked fairies. Groups of Bogeys will sometimes partner with a singular Mogwai and look up to them as a leader, but this comes with a high risk to the latter - should they not please the Bogeys, nor lead them in a way they consider proper, the combined power of the underclass can easily destroy them, with the Bogey who gets the killing blow becoming a Mogwai themselves. * Mogwai. The bulk of the High Court, these are fairies of average aptitude; were they pokémon and this the League, they would be considered 'mid-tier'. They function much like Erlkings, the rank directly above them, just at lower power. They create Tales for themselves, populated with Bugbears to help them feed and gather energy, and hunt mortals for sustenance. Unlike Erlkings, they may form alliances with Bogeys to gain more power, and access to a larger Tale. * Erlking. The most powerful fairies, short of the King and Queen themselves; they are relatively few in number, but devastating in ability. They are much like Mogwai, but on steroids - their Tales are larger and grander, their traits and abilities are more unique, they can corral and control many more Bugbears, and they almost always have a Pixie companion to assist, as well. They are powerful enough on their own to not need to take the risk to ally with Bogeys, as Mogwai are sometimes tempted to do, and can usually repel attacks on their rank by lesser fae with little difficulty. * Royal. The absolute pinnacle of the hierarchy, it is open only to two fairies at a time - one male, who bears the title of Oberon, the King, and one female, who carries the title of Titania, the Queen. The word of the King and Queen is law - all hierarchal fae will follow their commands without question, as loyally as any Bugbear would follow their Master. Royal, naturally, is the most desired position on the hierarchy, and challenges to their authority by Erlkings are not uncommon. These contests are allowed by the King and Queen; such is the law of the fae that the strongest should rule, and such bouts are the only way to determine who is ''the strongest at any one time. Only fairies of the same gender can challenge their respective counterpart; should the King or Queen fall, whoever slayed them will become the new bearer of the Oberon or Titania title. If a non-fairy were to kill a Royal, whichever of the Folk is strong enough to fill that void and fight to defend the rank will be seen as the new authority. However, not ''all ''fairies have a rank on the hierarchy, or a place in fairy society. In stories, outcast fairies are given the derisive nickname of ''Puck ''in reference to their perceived foolishness; anyone labelled "Puck" is thus marked in the supernatural world as stupid, revolting to fae sensibilities, or even ''dangerous. ''Folklorists classify the "Puck" tales further, into one of two distinct categories: * '''Cryptids'. These creatures straddle the cusp between fairies and other yokai; whether they are ''fairies at all depends on which researcher you ask, but the general consensus usually is "yes". Cryptids - a term popularized by paranormal enthusiasts, rather than by scholars - are unique in the fact that they have forms that are closer to physical than spiritual, and are not wholly composed of soul-matter like other fairy varieties; some cryptids are said to even eat physical food. This alone would make them freakish and alien to the rest of the Folk at large, but the larger source of their horror and disgust at Cryptids comes from them ''having their own Aura (the following section will get more into this). Because Cryptids have Aura, they can use Aura, and are incapable of creating Tales like other fae. For this reason, they can thrive in the real world, like yokai do and like other fairies no longer can. When they don't live on the physical plane, they hide within naturally-occurring pocket spaces, such as the Mystery Zone and the Interdream Zone, or they simply squat uninvited in the Tales of other fairies. Fabled entities who have seized hold of the imagination of pop culture, such as Bigfoot and Lake Déchaverte's own resident sea monster, Champ, are favored targets of Cryptid-hunters, desperate to capture one and thus prove that fairies are real. * Glitches. This is not the folklorist-preferred term - they like "chaos fairy" - but "Glitch" is the term one is likely to hear, especially ''if you're a first-year Trainer sitting down at a campfire, ready to get your pants scared off by older kids relaying horrifying tales of close encounters on the Cinnabar coastline. Glitch fairies, so nicknamed for their often incomprehensible and terrifying appearances, and bizarre behaviors that are reminiscent of electronics anomalies, are once-ordinary fairies who have become trapped in the world of mortals - where they can no longer exist coherently for any significant length of time, so say the die-hards, because of modern urbanization, pollution and disruption from the communications grid - and have gone mad as a result of it. The myth of Missingno., the star of a thousand urban legends and perhaps as many horror novels, games and films, is far and away the most popular and well-known of these, but others include the story of the endlessly replicating Bad Egg and the Chimera Charizard, who seems at first glance to be an ordinary pokémon, but is gradually determined to be...other. Aura Guardians and the Folk The historical Aura Guardians, as the mediators between the supernatural and mortal worlds, had a variety of tasks assigned to them in centuries past. According to the old legends, the Wild Roads, which dictate the flow of aura and souls around the world, are both the source from which most fairies are born, and also from where they draw their power. The Roads are therefore of upmost importance to the Folk, and were even moreso back then than they are now - during this pre-industrialized age, even those fairies who consisted purely of soul could live and walk among mankind without fear of madness. An important ritual role of the Guardians was to dictate the placement of various settlements and structures so that they would not intersect or otherwise disrupt any major causeways, lest the Folk grow vengeful and turn their sights on the villagers (a lesson learned the hard way, as numerous mythologies will attest). It was also the role of Aura Guardians, as the only humans who could read the flow of the ley, to identify where Nexus Points were located and ensure their protection; as the Nexus belonged to the Wild Ones of the Roads, the villages to men, and the forest and fields and waters to the pokémon. Knights of Sword and Shield One of the most important duties with which Aura Guardians were entrusted by the communities they visited was the unfortunate, but oftentimes necessary, slaying of fairies who preyed upon the residents. Aura-sensitives of any species, not merely human ones, are uniquely equipped to be able to go toe to toe with even the strongest of the Folk and possibly come out on top - with their Aura manipulation, they can destroy Tales rather easily, flushing the fairy residents out into the real world and preventing their escape. From there, they can force fairies to attempt a retreat yokai-style, via the Mystery Zone - a place where Aura-users can easily follow them, and where they are able to navigate and battle far more effectively than their fairy foes can. For most fairies, being in the Mystery Zone is a emergency route when they have no other recourse to try and flee - as a realm where the ''entirety of the Wild Roads can be 'seen' all at once, it's overwhelming to all but the strongest of these body-less, Aura-less creatures to try and comprehend. The Folk do not like to be in there any longer than they have to be, and their capability to put up a defense is heavily curtailed as a result of the massive information overload, despite the Zone's amble and abundant aura. For the most part, any fairy chased into the Mystery Zone became a sitting farfetch'd for the pursuing knight. When battling against the most powerful fae, who are able to hold on to their senses and fight back, or against Cryptids, who are no more stymied by the Mystery Zone than a yokai would be, different strategies were often required. It is for this reason that Aura Guardians often partnered with Empaths - usually a pokémon companion, but human Empaths were also common (This is the source of a common romance novel trope, as an aside - these partnerships between the always-male Aura Guardians and the usually-female Empaths were often interpreted as romantic ones. This aspect was incorporated into legends and folklore as much as fairies themselves were, and cemented Aura Guardians and Empaths as a very common pairing trope in paranormal romances, particularly time-travel themed ones, and fantasy novels). It was the Empath's job, as sensors of soul and spirit, to keep track of where the fairies were at all times and to read their moods, allowing Guardians to adjust their strategies on the fly and better keep up with their foes. Many medieval ballads and legends that have managed to survive to the current age detail, often with delicate love motifs woven in between the Guardians and their devoted Empath partners, the travails of these nobles and knights who dedicated their lives to this path of protection. These stories, in modern context, are believed by most to be symbolic rather than records of literal truth, often espousing the triumph of Arceus-worship, and the overwhelming power of Arceus' light to penetrate even the darkest of shadows. The Magic Went Away This new style of Arceus-worship, too, is what started to spell the beginning of the end of the delicate balancing act of peace between man and the Unseen Ones. Fairies started to be seen not as a natural aspect of the world that humanity had to respect and live alongside with, but an evil, a scourge, something dangerous and not of Arceus that had to be purged so people could prosper and grow without worry. Some Aura Guardians started to hunt fairies - and their yokai cousins, too - out of this wish to cleanse rather than necessity, clearing an area out so churches could be built upon powerful leylines without concern of retaliation. No more were they peacekeepers, but Arceus' holy knights, not merely content to keep 'evil' at bay, but to eradicate it. Yokai and the Folk, so the stories go, would no longer barter with, associate with, nor bless humans and pokémon, but started to hide more and more, retreating into the world's cracks and shadows, lingering in mortal memories but no longer in open sight; it is at this time that they became known as the "Unseen Ones" by those who still believed in them. Mortals were now simply nothing more than food to the fae, and to humans and pokémon in turn, they were nothing more than myths. With fairies seemingly extinct, humans pushed through and gradually developed the modern world wholly unimpeded. But of course, all of this is just elaborate stories; everyone knows that there were never any fairies to begin with. But some aren't so sure. Are you? Perhaps you should decide for yourself. Clap Your Hands: Who Believes in Fairies? While not many rational human beings will admit to believing in fairies, or thinking of them as anything more than folklore and children's tales, there are ''those out there who look to the supernatural world with interest. The Pokémon League is known to have performed experiments relating to fairies and their rumored ability to create habitable spaces that aren't actually there in the real world, and also their ability to slip through these spaces to traverse without regard to barriers, distance or geography; many of these were conducted at Resolve Island during its heyday. The League's public stance since inception has been "there is no such thing", but more than a few paranormal investigators and conspiracy nuts wonder if they might actually be hiding something. Several individuals within Interpol, too, claim to be well aware of the reality of the Folk, or at the least are rather insistent on believing in them. Among the general public, belief in fairies, while rare overall, is more frequent among older populations in rural areas, where it is easy to imagine that maybe, just ''maybe, that flicker of movement in the twilight shade isn't just a pidgey heading back to its nest to roost, but one of the forgotten creatures that their own grandparents whispered about. Modern spins on the old stories are still alive and well today, told most often by Trainers on their travels. Brave Aura Guardians instead become brave kids, venturing into mysterious forests and haunted houses armed with nothing more than a pokéball or two, and while many of the fairies that figure in these tales have been evoking shivers for centuries, many more are new inventions - the famous Missingno. stories, for example, only date back to the mid-1990s. Part of a culture that has never had to wonder what lies beyond yet wants to believe, just for a moment in the dark, that there are still things in this world that they can never understand, the monsters are perhaps more alive, and more needed, than they have ever been before. Category:Lore